Dangerous Play COMPLETELY REVISED
by you know who i am
Summary: Resident Evil 2 from a completely different point of view. ACTIONROMANCE. Original Character.
1. Chapter 1

**Dangerous Play Revised**   
**By: Xeline Ganuelas**  
_For Desiree Ruaro_  
All Characters here, except Celina Archers, are (c) Copyright Capcom.

**ONE:**

I woke-up to the scent of burning metal and the sound of cackling flames. Immediately, I got up to check what was going on. There was a car crash. A truck rammed a police car to a brick wall. _What the fuck happened here? And what the hell was I doing lying in the middle of the road like that? Was I part of that?_ Questions flowed through my head, but none were answered. Something moaned behind me. I turned to look what it was. _Oh, people. Maybe they know what happened here._ My feet started to walk toward them, then stopped. Something was wrong—very wrong. As light flickered onto them, blood glimmered all over their bodies. _What the fuck??? _They were growing in number and they were all walking—no, dragging themselves toward me. Is this some kind of sick joke? Am I on Scare Tactics? "Hey! Come on, this isn't funny. I know you guys are there trying to scare me—not gonna work." I shouted with a nervous chuckle, but the camera people insisted on hiding and the zombie actors kept on coming for me. _Oh, Christ._ I did what I knew was the best thing to do. I ran and tried to stay calm, still convinced that this was just some sick joke.

I reached a gun shop at the turn of the corner. It all looked so familiar. _Wait a minute. I know this._ I stopped and looked around to check if I was right, and at that moment, I just wished that I could be really proven wrong. I know this place, this alley, the car crash, the gun shop, but it isn't anywhere I've been to before. _Aw, SHIT!_ I cursed under my breath. _It can't be. It just can't be!_ I repeated again and again while trying to convince myself that I was just dreaming. It must be a dream. After all, I was in Raccoon City, a place that only existed in the world of the videogame, Resident Evil.

I went into the gun shop and knew exactly what to expect: Kendo, the owner, who will soon be fresh meat to those things outside. I've always hated predictability, but I guess now, it works best for me. I suddenly remembered what Sigmund Freud once said, "_Dreams are only projections of our deepest fears and desires"_—or something like it. So, I guess, after playing Resident Evil 2 over and over again, being in it for real is one of my deepest fears. Great. _No, not great, wonderful._ I decided that if this was a dream or a sick joke, I still wouldn't want to try getting eaten by those zombies. I'd keep moving till I get to the station, or maybe even further, then maybe, I'd just wake up in the middle of it all. _Yes, that's it. Think positive. Besides, you know how to get through this_. I kept pushing positive thoughts in my head to keep my fear of this being real as far away as possible.

I realized I didn't have a gun, so I grabbed a Browning Hi-Power from one of the shelves and stuck it in my belt holster which was surprisingly there. Kendo didn't mind, as in the game. I grabbed a box of bullets, stuffed it in my skirt pocket, and knew better than to stay and wait for the zombies to crash in and feed on the poor guy. I thanked him and left.

I heard moaning from a distance—zombies by the basketball court, trying to get through the chicken fence. Christ. I'd have to shoot some of them if I wanted to stay clean. I ran as fast as my denim skirt and knee-high boots allowed me to the other side of the alley, and grabbed more bullets from the van that was blocking the way. Whoever chose my wardrobe sucked big time, because I wouldn't even dare to wear a short skirt and high-heeled boots, but I knew exactly what to do. So why was I so afraid? I shot them in the head and surprised myself as they all fell down. _I've always wanted to do that._ I ran past them and knew that there'd be more.

I started to wonder if I'd meet Leon, one of the two main characters of this game, along the way. After all, it was usually his "Scenario" that I—uh—play. I've always disliked him, though. _He's such a wuss and a control freak. Oh, and not to forget a flirt. I still can't believe he fell for that bitch, Ada Wong. _I brushed those thoughts away and decided to just concentrate on shooting and running, shooting and running—a new-found routine. I reached the police station with no scratches or bites, but two close ones. I opened the double-door entrance and entered with a sigh of relief. I've always considered this place the safest because no monster or zombie can come in here. That's just the way of the game, I guess.

Suddenly, a loud bang hurt my ears and pain shot up my leg as warm blood streamed from my right calf. "What the fuck?!" I screamed in agony and anger. I could barely stand but I looked for my shooter and found him.

"Oh, shit!" He said. It was Leon. I cried in pain and fell on the ground.

"Why did you shoot me you piece of shit?" I asked with all the strength I had left. He was already running to me, and that was the last thing I could remember. _Yippee. I'm going to wake-up to my bed now._

**TWO:**

A bright fluorescent light was blinding me as I opened my eyes. _Am I in my room yet?_ My eyes focused and I have never been more disappointed. Christ. What do I have to do to wake-up?! I exhaled heavily and was back to full consciousness. My calf was throbbing badly. _If I find that dumbass again, I'm going to shoot him._ I pulled myself up from the wooden bench I was lying down on and found him.

"Hey," he said. I immediately pointed my gun at him with the fury of a thousand harpies.

"Why did you shoot me, you stupid shit?" I asked angrily. He held up his hands abruptly, his eyes filled with fear. _Good dog. _

"Hey, look, I'm so sorry about that." He stuttered, "I really didn't know you were human. I thought you were one of those zombies!" He explained. I just stared at him and didn't put my gun down, "I swear!" He pleaded. He looked like he was about to pee in his pants. "I did take care of the wound for you." He added, thinking that it would earn him points. He was half right.

"You really should have, anyway." I replied, still with the gun at him.

"I am really, really sorry! Please! Put the gun down!" He said, almost with a tone of anger. I put the gun down, knowing that killing him won't really do me any good. "Thank you." He said as he gave a sigh of relief. He rubbed his chest as if his heart had stopped beating. "You really scared me back there." _I told you he was a wuss._

"I know."

"I'm Leon, Leon Kennedy. It's my--"

"First day on the job, yes I know."

"How did--"

"Look, I'm just dreaming here, ok? And I need to wake-up. This is all just a bad dream. I know it because this can't possibly real." I told him firmly, "Oh, and I am not hysterical, either. I'm perfectly fine." I added. There was nothing but confusion on his face. Maybe I shouldn't have explained and just left him there. _Damn. Why didn't I think of that earlier? _

"Who are you?" He asked, full of curiosity.

"You don't have to know." I said.

"Why are you so snappy, then?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Can't you at least tell me your name?"

I was getting irritated already so I guess there's no harm in telling him. Not like he'll remember, anyway. "Celina Archers." I said.

"Pleased to meet you." He said sarcastically and reached out his hand for a shake. I don't know why he bothered, but I shook his hand anyway. I touched the wound that he made and wrapped. I wasn't sure if I should thank him or not, because though he fixed it up, it was still his fault. It was his obligation to fix it up, but he could have just left me there, too. Bah. What the heck.

"Thanks for patching it up." I said. He looked at me and smiled,

"You're welcome."

"Anyway, I have to get going. You should, too." I told him and tried to stand up. Pain shot up my leg and I stumbled back on the bench. Damn it! He chuckled a little and said,

"Do you really think you'll get anywhere with that?" I glared at him,

"Your fault, not mine." He chuckled again and it was irritating me like hell. It wasn't funny. The throbbing pain didn't help either. That was when it hit me. It finally hit me. Oh, hell no. I tried to stand up again and wished I wasn't right. The same thing happened and I just landed back on my ass. "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

I slowly looked up at him and swallowed hard. This cannot be happening.

"What is it?" He asked again. I couldn't find the words to speak it out loud. I couldn't even grasp the reality of it all—of all of this. _Can this really be possible?_ I shuddered and looked around me as I tried to touch the things within my reach. _This cannot be real, damn it! _"Celina!" he snapped, holding my shoulders. I swallowed again.

"This cannot be happening." I stuttered, "No, no, no…" I could feel the beat of my heart against my chest.

"Celina, calm down. What's wrong?" Leon asked again, his eyes full of concern. How can I be calm? Why is he calm?

"This is—this is just a dream—it's all a dream, right? Right?!" I screamed at him. He just stared at me, again full of confusion. "They say that when you're dreaming, you have to hurt yourself to wake-up, right? You—you shot my meat clean and I didn't wake up. Pain shot through me twice as I tried to—to stand up and I still didn't wake up. Tell me—tell me those theories are wrong. Tell me this isn't real!" I told him in between gasps and swallows. I was hyperventilating. He didn't tell me otherwise. _Oh, God, please help me._ I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. Leon held my arms tight as if I'd vanish anytime soon.

"Just calm down, Celina. We're going to get through this, okay? We're going to get out of here alive." He said and started to say a plethora of things to try and keep me calm. They weren't really helping, but it was thoughtful of him, anyway.

After a while, my breathing finally started to slow down and I slightly opened my eyes. "There, that's it." He said slowly. He was badly acting like my mom, it made me chuckle, and that made him smile. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing." I said. Insulting him wouldn't be a very nice way of saying thanks. He let it go. _Good. _

**THREE:**

I closed my eyes again and waited till I fully calmed down. It took a while before I did. I actually think I passed out. I was so thirsty. I opened my eyes and found Leon annoyingly standing there against the wall, watching me. I frowned at him immediately and asked, "Why are you still here?"

"Tsk tsk. Grandma, what a sharp tongue you have!" he replied, shaking his head. That actually gave me a hard time suppressing a laugh. It made me wonder though, why the sudden change of attitude? Is he schizophrenic or something?

"No, seriously, why are you still here?" I tried to sound as indifferent to his joke as possible.

"And I thought you were intelligent." _Say, what?! _

"You really want a bullet in your head, don't you?" I asked, flaring with anger.

"When I get bitten, that'd be great, but not now. But come on, isn't it obvious why I'm still here?" he asked. I raised a brow at him and wished I hadn't asked. When I didn't say anything, he answered his own question,

"I wanted to wait for you." I inhaled deeply to keep myself from doing anything foolish or offensive. I looked away.

"Well, you just wasted a hell lot of your time."

"In a place like this, do you think time even matters?" he asked, and for the first time, he actually made sense. Damn. I didn't know how to rebut to that.

"Fine, whatever, let's just go." I told him and stood up—and actually stood up.

"She can stand!" he shouted, imitating one of those Baptist priests. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "She can laugh!" he added. I shot him a look and he stopped. A really, nice, good pet, isn't he? I didn't comment or anything anymore and just continued on the path that the game would have wanted us to go. Just before I opened the door that would lead us to the next hallway, a huge pink creature passed the window and Leon froze. "Don't worry. He'll introduce himself in a few seconds." I told him. _Hehe._ This time, it was his turn to give me the look. I didn't care. I opened the door and walked in, ready for the surprise that awaited us. A dripping sound welcomed us and we calmly walked to the scene of the headless policeman on the floor. Of course, only Leon was all-gasps, especially when the "Licker", as the game creators called it, started to stalk towards us from the ceiling. "Ready your shotgun, my man." I told him with a smile. It may be big, but it's no match for my gun and Leon's shotgun at the same time. It fell on the floor as expected and flung itself to the air. "Now!" I shouted. Leon and I fired and the creature fell an inch before me. _Wheee! That was fun!_ Leon was trying to catch his breath and I just couldn't help but chuckle at him. _Truly a wuss, all right. _"You know, normally, I would have just run past it, but I guess this time, it'd be better to just kill it." I told him arrogantly. _Heh!_

"Right," was the only word that came out of him. I grabbed the green herb that was lying on the floor past the creature.

"Here," I handed it to him, "use this when you get an injury. It'll help you heal the wound." We moved on quite peacefully and smoothly. Pretty much, I just told him where and when to shoot and we have survived without a scratch. We reached the second floor and bumped into the other main character, Claire Redfield. We found her in the S.T.A.R.S. office looking through her missing brother's things. She and Leon had that little chat that the game required, then he introduced me to her. She's okay, I guess. At least she could take care of herself.

"Okay, so now that we're all together here, would you care to explain to us what had happened to the city and to the people in it?" Leon asked me politely, but there it goes again. I wanted to escape having to explain everything to them, but when I looked at their faces, they were ready to listen intently to what I had to say. I was trapped.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but you've probably heard this from some dying policeman already awhile ago." I told them, referring to Marvin Branagh, a minor character in the game that would tell one of them a short summary of what had happened to the city, and would turn into a zombie later on, but enough about him. "It was said that there was this mansion located in the outskirts of the city," I began, recalling every word that I heard from Marvin in the game. "Something happened down there, and so, some of the S.T.A.R.S. members, including your brother, were dispatched to see what had happened. When they got there, the T-virus, a mutagenic toxin that reanimates dead cells, had already broke out. It wasn't long before the virus had reached the city. Other than that, the corporation responsible for all this, Umbrella, has an underground facility here in the city, and believe it or not, we're standing almost right above it right now. That is where the G-virus was created. That is also where we have to head later on to escape the city."

The two of them looked at each other, then back at me. "Are you serious?" Claire asked,

"Do I look like I'm joking about this?"

"Right." They just stared out blankly into space, probably contemplating what I just told them. _Maybe I should start a career in reading storybooks to children._

"Thank you for telling us. That was really helpful of you." Claire added. _See? She's not that bad. _I've always wondered though, how she knew how to shoot a gun, coz she was just a civilian and all…just like I'm supposed to be.

I shrugged off my thoughts and told Leon that we should scan the room for something small, peculiar and suspicious, coz honestly, I couldn't really remember what we needed to find. I just knew that there was something here other than a shotgun and an aid spray that we would need later on.

"Hey, how about this?" Leon said, holding up a bronze medal with the head of a unicorn embossed on it.

"Yeah, that's it!" I said almost too brightly. Claire just stood there, in front of her brother's desk just as she would do so in the game. It kind of annoyed me how everything was so stiff on the rules of the game.

"So, what's this for?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it's for the fountain at the lobby; some kind of puzzle of some sort."

"Ah…right."

"What? It's true!"

"Okay then, if you say so."

I got the shotgun from an open safe and loaded it.

"We'll see you around," I greeted her before leaving the room, while Leon told her to mind the radio that he gave her to keep in touch. We left Claire there who just watched us leave, and headed back to the lobby.

We were almost there when all of a sudden, as we were running through a corridor, arms of zombies shot through the barricaded wall and grabbed us. "Damn it!" I shouted, trying to shake the hands off of me, but they were all over me—my arms, my legs, my torso, and my neck. "A little help here, please!" I grunted,

"Sorry, but if you didn't notice, I'm kind of busy here, too" Leon grunted back, but broke free after a few seconds. Next thing I knew, another pair of hands shot out next to my face and covered my eyes and mouth. _Crap!_ I mumbled a scream and Leon finally started to help me. I wanted to bite the hand on my mouth but it was too risky—I could get the virus. He had taken care of the hands around my legs but the one around my neck was strangling me. I couldn't breathe.

"Leon!" I tried to scream again, but only came out a mumble. My neck was about to break, I just know it. I really couldn't breathe. Leon finally sliced at the hands around my neck and my mouth, amazingly missing my throat and lips. I inhaled, and fell to the ground in full darkness.

**FOUR:**

"Celina?" I woke-up to the sound of someone's voice calling out my name. "Celina?" it said again. My eyelids were suddenly so heavy, and I could only lift them halfway through. "Celina, can you hear me?" I breathed and tried to clear my vision.

"Leon…" I whispered. I heard him sigh heavily in relief.

"For a moment there, I thought I lost you again," he said. I smiled and realized that for the second time in a span of an hour and a half, I passed out again—and still haven't woken inside my room. _Jesus Christ, how many times am I going to pass out?_ And yes, I still do believe that I can wake up from all this, and I will. I closed my eyes again.

"Sleep," I whispered to him.

"Okay, get some more rest. I'll look out for you." He replied, and at that, I knew I had fallen asleep again.

I inhaled deeply and opened my eyes. "Leon?" I called out softly. Where am I? I scanned the room and didn't find him anywhere. Unexpectedly, panic shot through me. "Leon?" I called out again. Suddenly, he popped out of a door-less opening next to a blackboard.

"Hey! Good morning!" he said cheerfully. Instead of getting annoyed, I felt completely embarrassed. I truly despise helpless people and I have been one to him for the past few hours. I hate it. "Hey. How long was I out?" I asked, "An hour and a half or so. You suffocated, but it was the concussion of the fall that pretty much knocked you out."

"I see…" was my only reply. I couldn't look at him anymore. It really shamed me to be such a burden. Now this is another reason why I just wanted to be left alone. I didn't want to be a burden to anyone, especially to someone whom I've been so mean to. I just really want to get out. Now, I'm stuck, and what's worse, I have to deal with not just the zombies, but this, too. Yes, I'm referring to Leon. _Sigh._ Now I owe him, and other than being a burden, I'm indebted to him. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it all to hell.

"What's wrong?" he asked me, turning one of the arm chairs in front of me to face me, then sat down.

"Nothing," I said casually. He didn't have to know what was on my mind.

"I know you think I'm not smart, but believe it or not, I am not that stupid, Celina." I guess I offended him more than I thought. _Why am I feeling guilty? _

"I'm sorry," I said, and I really meant it. He smiled that damned smile and told me it's okay. I really hate him when he does that. I really do.

"Anything interesting in this room?" I asked him in the hurry to change the mood.

"No, nothing much except for the backroom. Strangely, there's a fireplace in it. How many times have you seen a fireplace in a storage room?" he said sarcastically,

"Right. Well, I better check it out, too."

"You sure you're alright now? Not feeling dizzy or anything?" he asked with a really concerned look in his eyes. It was too sincere that you'd think that he was just mocking you or something, but he wasn't the type to do that.

"Yes, I'm fine." I told him firmly.

"Okay, then." We stood up and walked to the fireplace he was referring to. It _was_ strange. There was nothing else in the room but some broken chairs and an ugly old painting that was hanging above the fireplace.

"There's an inscription here," I said as I tried to read the dusty old plate, "It says, 'A sacrifice to the hell fire'". I looked back at Leon and he frowned.

"Here, try this." He handed me his lighter. I examined it a bit and took a liking to it. It was a traditional lighter with a lion etched on it, not like the ones that have colored flames and flashing light bulbs that you see nowadays. I smiled as I lighted the fireplace, remembering that this was exactly how it was supposed to be done. The painting suddenly caught fire and eventually stopped after a few seconds. A blood-red jewel, the size of a fist, dropped from it, similar to the one upstairs, guarded by another puzzle. I grabbed it and smiled in satisfaction which Leon had as well.

"This is a rather lovely lighter." I said, handing it back to him.

"You want it?" I looked up at him at that in awe and anticipation. Does he really want to give this to me? "Yeah, you want it." He said, chuckling. I laughed with him and said,

"Was it that obvious?"

"The look on your face was enough to tell me that you were in love with it already."

"Oh." _How many times is he going to embarrass me?! _

"You can keep it." He said. I smiled sheepishly at him then,

"Are you serious?"

"How serious should I be?" I scratched my head.

"Well, you know, it could have some sentimental value to it or something."

"Hmm. Well, it was given to me by my ex."

"Oh." I didn't really know how to react to that, and he had a weird look on his face.

"She said that I was the light of her life, that's why she gave that to me." He chuckled at something I didn't understand, so I just stayed silent. "I have been wanting to get rid of it, really, but I thought it would be such a waste if I just threw it out. So, please, take it." He said with a slight tone of mock pleading. I stared at the wonderful lighter again and smiled,

"Thanks."

"Promise me you'll take care of it."

"I'll keep it safe." After that, I knew it was going to be so awkward, and it was. It just couldn't be helped, I guess.

**FIVE:**

We arrived at the lobby and stood in front of the fountain. "Unicorn medal, please," I asked politely. It was the first time any of us spoke after the "lighter" conversation. He handed me the medal, and without reading the inscription, I placed it gently on the empty circular space of the fountain. The statue of the woman holding a water jar suddenly moved forward, and out came a shiny key from the jar. It fell on the space of the fountain that seemed to have been made especially for the key.

"Cool." Leon exclaimed. I smiled and put the key in my pocket.

"This will open that door in the headless policeman hallway, and the other door in the S.T.A.R.S. office corridor." I told him. He didn't say anything and just smiled that damned smile again.

"What? Why are you smiling?" I asked him irritably.

"Is it wrong to smile now?" he asked, chuckling again. I dropped the topic and just rolled my eyes. We moved on in silence.

We reached the first locked door which was a storage room for all the files and films for documentation. Normally, there'd be a lot of good stuff to find here, but since there is no need for us to 'save' whatsoever, there was only one important thing you could get here, and that was the square crank. I pushed the small ladder against the high shelf where the crank was located and climbed it. Being small, I had a hard time reaching for it. I tiptoed on the ladder, and it was a bad move. It slid from the shelf and wobbled. _Shit!_ I grabbed the crank immediately as I prepared for the fall. I shut my eyes the moment I was airborne. _This is going to hurt, alright._ It didn't. I fell right on Leon's arms as if he was there the entire time, waiting for me to fall. _Hello, shame, we meet again._ I sighed relief and he smiled as he put me back on the ground gently.

"Thanks." I said, full of embarrassment once again. "You're welcome," he replied.

_This guy—has been saving my life. I don't know damn well how to repay him._ "You could start by being nice to him," my conscience said. _Guilt, what force you have._ No words were exchanged after that again, and he just followed me wherever I went. You could say there was no thrill to what we were doing anymore because I knew everything that was going to happen. Wrong. I knew exactly what was going to happen if he wasn't hanging around. Having him with me just made everything different and difficult, believe me. Not in a physical aspect, of course, but it's like having a huge rock inside your chest and you don't know how to get it out. Thing is, I was a bit certain that it wasn't only guilt that the rock was made of. What it is, I'd rather not find out.

We reached the second locked door in the second floor, and still, the silence enveloped us. "There are five zombies behind this door. Ready?" I asked him. He remembered to load his shotgun this time,

"Ready." He said, and kicked it open.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. He forgot the door was still locked. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Not a bit too excited, huh?" I said as I helped him up from the floor. I was expecting him to rebut to that, but he just laughed with me. I was unlocking the door and was about to open it when he said,

"Wait."

"What is it?"

"It hurts too much. I think I sprained it." He replied. _Damn. _

"We better attend to that first, then." I told him. "C'mon, let's go into the S.T.A.R.S. office so you can sit down."

"I can't move." I put his arm around me and started to drag him to the office. He was really heavy. Good thing it wasn't that far. He helped me as much as he could by pushing with his other good leg. We went into the office and I let him sit on Chris Redfield's chair as it was the nearest. "I'm really sorry. That was one stupid move." He apologized as I took off his boot. I smiled up at him and said,

"This doesn't even out the number of accidents I've been into the past few hours." I pulled up the right leg of his pants, "Where does it hurt?" I asked, taking out the roll of bandage that I found with the aid spray I picked up in this same office awhile ago.

"In my ankle and in my knee,"

"Are you sure it's sprained?"

"No, not really, but it hurts pretty bad."

"Don't even think about taking this the wrong way." I told him sternly as I started to massage his ankle.

"I wasn't going to." The ankle wasn't sprained, but not much of the impact would be there. I ran up my fingers his calf and started to look if there were any sprains there. None.

"That feels good, by the way. Where'd you learn that?" he asked,

"Let's just say, I've been through a lot of this myself." I replied, smiling as I remembered the time when I slid and fell flat on my glove hand while playing softball. That was pretty bad.

"Sorry for the smell," he said, referring to his socks,

"That's not even half of the bomb that my dad's feet drop when he comes home from work." I said, laughing. It was true, though. Thanks to my dad's feet, I could stand pretty much other stink bombs that have less intensity than his feet. I got to his knees. There was a lot of tension here, again, but thankfully, no sprain. He just watched me silently as I began to wrap his knee and calf with the bandage. "And that's a wrap." I said, marveling at my work. He chuckled at me.

"Well done, doctor."

"Oh ho, ho, don't call me that, please. That is the farthest thing I will be."

"How come? You did a pretty good job here." I put his boots back on and straightened his pants.

"Well, first of all, I am dead scared of blood; second, of needles. Third, I have really low tolerance for pain. And lastly, I am just not cut up to be one." I replied, getting up and straightening out my own clothes. He laughed at me again. This time, I didn't know why. "What?"

"Well, you just said two of the silliest things I've ever heard."

"What was so silly about that?"

"Think about it, Celina. You? Scared of blood? Yet here you are now, killing all these creatures and spattering their blood all over the place. Low tolerance for pain? Think of how much pain you've been enduring for the past few hours with your injury and all." I did think about it and I only had one thing to say, "That's only because this is just a game. I know that none of this is real, and it helps a lot." I wasn't prepared for what he said next.

"Life is a game, Celina, and you never really know what's real or not, because everything just depends on the way you look at them." I stared at him then, not knowing what to say, and he just smiled back at me.

"Were you always this wise?" I asked, not intending to say it out loud. He looked away and chuckled,

"I wouldn't say so. It was my dad who kept telling me that same sentence, every time I'd refuse to do something because of fear." He paused for a moment, and I just listened. "Now, let's go. Five zombies are waiting for us. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting now, would we?" He stood up and he was all better, or at least he showed that he was. He walked ahead of me this time. I thought about what he told me and it all made sense again. _Damn this man._ "It's open now, right?" he asked me before opening the door. I laughed and said yes. We entered and started shooting. The zombies hardly noticed us as they were feasting on someone. Disgusting. After that, I could say that the rock was immensely lighter and I felt a lot better. I just hope I can keep up with this being nice thing.

**SIX:**

The "journey" moved on smoothly again, and I didn't even have to tell him much. What would happen, happened. However, this time, it wasn't as silent as before. In fact, we started talking about other things and would only stop when we're shooting. We've gone a long way, at the same time, found out a lot about each other. In fact, if it weren't for the creatures and the shootings, it would have been a nice date. That doesn't mean, though, that I'm considering this as a date, okay? I'm simply comparing it to one, that's all.

Anyway, I found out that he's 21 years old, that he really wanted to be a cop since he was a kid, he's an only child, he doesn't smoke even if he had that lighter, and honestly told me that he isn't a fan of alcohol. As for me, I told him that I wasn't a fan of alcohol either, that I don't smoke, too, that I'm the eldest of three children in my family, I love white lilies, and that if I wasn't playing videogames, I'd be in a café, reading a book. I wasn't really sure if all this mattered, but it was really nice. Not to mention the fact that I am not compensating for the nasty treatment I was giving him awhile ago.

We reached one of the locked rooms in the eastern office, unlocked it, and entered. I am noting this particular room because it amazed me so. It was an interrogation room with a one-way mirror, passing through the next room which we've been in already. "This is cool." I said out loud, looking around. Leon got the aid spray and the electrical chord on the table.

"Do we need this?" he asked me, holding up the electrical chord,

"Yeah. We can close the windows to one of the ground floor hallways with this." I told him while I stared at myself in the mirror. For the first time, I was able to see how I looked like. I was wearing a sleeveless black turtleneck under my denim jacket, the hip holster with its several pockets, the denim skirt, and the knee-high boots. My long, black hair was up in a tight ponytail. My face was the only thing that remained the same. Leon stopped beside me and looked at the mirror, too.

"Is that how you, you know, really look like?" he asked. It was a bit of an awkward question to ask.

"Well, I wouldn't wear this kind of thing, and my hair isn't as long as this yet, but yeah, pretty much, the face looks the same." I told him, quite amused myself. He smiled and went over to the shelf leaning against the far wall.

"How about this—uhm, some sort of rook plug?" he asked me,

"Yeah, take that." I replied, without looking at him. I was still staring at the mirror, but not out of vanity, but because I was trying to remember something. _There's something behind this mirror. _

"What is it?" he asked, probably noticing the change in the look on my face.

"Don't move." I told him sternly as I walked toward the mirror and peered through it. Without warning, Leon stepped forward,

"Celina, what--" CRASH. Leon and I were thrown into the air as the Licker flew into the room.

"SHIT!" I screamed. I reached for Leon's shotgun which was also airborne and shot the Licker twice before it could strike him. It wasn't enough. It touched the ground the same time I did and pounced at me at once. I shot it again. It dropped dead before it reached me. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. I dropped the shotgun.

"Leon!" He was palpitating badly. A few shards of glass went into his chest, not to mention the ones that were around him on the floor. Surprisingly, I only got a scratch on the left side of my cheek. I didn't know what to do, but it wouldn't do us both good if we were both panicking. "Okay, Leon, just breathe. Breathe slowly. You're going to lose oxygen. Slowly, now, come on. Inhale, exhale." I told him, trying to calm myself down at the same time. "Inhale," I said, inhaling with him, "Exhale." I repeated it again and again, and he followed closely. He was closing his eyes slowly. I checked his pulse. It was too fast. "I am not going to lose you!" I cried out. I took off my jacket and rolled it to the closest thing I can get to a pillow and placed it under Leon's head. He was calming down. I saw him swallow. I checked if there were any vital parts that were hit by the shards of glass. Thankfully, there were none. He wasn't going to die, but the wounds were pretty bad. I only had one roll of bandage left. I hope it's enough. "There, that's it, follow my chest, Leon." I held his hand against the upper side of my chest so he can feel what I wanted him to do since his eyes were closed. I put my other hand on his forehead to keep him relaxed.

When the tension was gone from his body, I could tell he was asleep and it was my cue to work on the wounds. Piece by piece, I slowly took off the shards of glass, trying as hard as I could not to take any chunks with it. After, I shot the licker again before leaving and looking for a small towel and some water to clean the wound before using the aid spray. Surprisingly, I found one in the storage room, and I knew that it wouldn't really be there in the game. I remembered there weren't any bathrooms at all in the entire police station, so I had to go all the way up to the second floor, and out to the water tank to make it overflow. The main purpose of that was to extinguish the fire of the burning helicopter that crashed into the police station while we weren't looking. However, I used it to my advantage by holding up the towel while the water tank sprayed its contents into the helicopter. _Amazing._ I moved back immediately to where I left Leon and continued my work. Thankfully, I was able to make the single roll of bandage fit and cover all the wounds in his torso. "There, all done." I exclaimed, marveling at my work again.

**SEVEN:**

I tried hard, but I really couldn't lift Leon and transfer him to a better location. So, I just pushed the shards manually with my foot, making sure that they didn't go through my boots as I did. After that, I sat down on the chair, crossed my arms against the table, and laid my head on it. I did need a rest, too, but as much as I wanted to sleep, I'm not allowed to. You never know if I miss out anything that might come get us any minute.

I closed my eyes and reflected. _I've actually been pretty serious about all this_. I opened my eyes again and watched Leon. _And this man right here, who would have thought he'd be so wise?_ "Come to think of it, you're actually pretty cute, too." I said out loud. I leaned against the chair and watched his chest rise and fall slowly. I've never watched a person sleep before, and I must say it was quite amusing. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. All of a sudden, my stomach lurched. _Oh, this is NOT happening._ I was damn hungry, and obviously, there isn't anything to eat, and there never will be. I just hoped that my hyperacidity won't act up on me now.

I heard Leon groan. That was pretty fast. "Good morning, star-shine. The earth says 'hello!'" I greeted him, not as cheery as it should have sounded. He got-up slowly and held his forehead, "What happened?"

"What's it look like to you?"

"Damn, I missed that." He said, chuckling, referring to the nasty reply. I realized I'm starting again with the attitude.

"Sorry," I said and meant it. He laughed at that.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind." I just smiled in reply.

"So, I guess we can call it even now, huh?"

"Doesn't matter," I said, suppressing a yawn. There was a moment of silence when he just scanned the room with his eyes, then slowly stood up. He walked around a bit, stretching his arms and all. After a few moments, he stopped and leaned against the opposite side of the table. He looked at me in the eye. That was the first time I noticed his eyes were blue, and I couldn't help but stare.

"Thank you." He said softly, and smiled that _damned smile._ I just stared at him.

"No problem," I said, and shrugged. I felt something clench inside my stomach. I looked away. "And next time, when I tell you not to move, don't move." I added sternly as I stood from the chair. He laughed again,

"Yes, ma'am." He was fully functional, alright.

"Now, c'mon, let's get out of here." We left the room quietly.

After that, I knew that there was something there that wasn't there before, and it wasn't a licker this time, or any other creature for that matter, but it was bad. It was horrible. "You okay?" Leon asked. I shook my head,

"Yeah, everything's fine." And I hope I was right.

On the road again, we have pretty much gotten used to everything. You could say that it's a piece of cake for both of us. _Cake. Lord, help me._ My stomach lurched again. "What was that?" Leon laughed as he was attaching the electrical chord to the broken circuit of the windows in the western office's hallway. I held my stomach with one hand as it tortured me with needle-like pains all over it. When I didn't reply, Leon checked me. "What is it?" he asked with a worried look on his face. I straightened out and tried not to think about it.

"It's called hyperacidity."

"Oh. That can't be good."

"No, but this has happened to me lots of times now. I can handle it." I told him. I can't let this get in the way now.

"Okay, if you say so." He finished with the circuit and all of a sudden, metal barricades dropped on the broken windows.

"Cool." We walked on and headed for the third floor.

We arrived at the "clock" room. We named it that way because it was full of cogs and all. "There's a square hole here," Leon said,

"Use the crank we got awhile ago."

"Right," He inserted the crank and it fit perfectly. He turned it until a staircase completely dropped. "Since when did you see a police station with so much puzzles and shit?" he asked as we climbed the staircase. I laughed,

"That's exactly what I think every time I play this game. Ever noticed that there are no bathrooms at all?"

"Oh, yeah! Christ!" We then started to share our observations about the station as I fixed the machinery with the missing cog. I pushed the button and a chute to our right opened up.

"That's interesting." Leon exclaimed, peering through it. "'Wonder where this leads to," he added,

"Why don't you find out?" "Ladies first," he said. I rolled my eyes and dropped into the filthy chute. Before I knew it, I was in the basement again. Leon dropped next to me. There was a loud roar that echoed through the walls. "What the hell was that?" Leon asked, a lot of panic in his voice. "It's William Birkin, now known as G, or the G-virus monster. He was the one who created it, but Umbrella tried to take it from him before it was finished. At least, that's what I remember. So, he injected himself with it. Before long, the virus spread out throughout the lab, the same lab that we'll be going to later." I explained as we walked on. "Wow. You were really obsessed with this game, weren't you?" he asked, laughing out loud. I gave him the look and he stopped. _But I was obsessed._

**EIGHT:**

We reached the parking lot, still talking about Birkin. Suddenly, somebody shot at us, but was stupid enough to miss us. "Hey!" Leon shouted angrily. A figure suddenly walked towards us, and I knew immediately I wasn't going to like it. "Sorry, about that," the bitch in a red halter dress and black leggings said,

"I thought you were one of them." Leon and I just watched her. "I'm Ada. Ada Wong." She added. _And we care coz…? _

"I'm Leon Kennedy,"

"Who's the hooker?" she asked. My jaw dropped at that and I had the greatest impulse to shoot her. In an instant, I pushed my gun against her forehead with one hand, looking fiercely at her straight in the eye, hand unwavering.

"Celina!" Leon shouted, knowing that I was capable of shooting her right then and there. I didn't move.

"Now you know my name, and I'm the bitch who'll send you back to hell." I told her, straining myself from pulling that trigger. She just scoffed at me and looked away, showing no sign of fear whatsoever.

"Celina, please, put the gun down." Leon said softly, holding my arm with the gun. I looked at him and knew that I wouldn't hear the end of it if I shot this woman in front of him. I'll do it later. "She's a civilian and it's my job to take care of her just like you." He told me, eyes pleading. I exhaled and put the gun down for his sake.

"Submissive to the boyfriend, eh?" Ada blurted out.

"Hey. Stop that." Leon said firmly and getting in between us before I could put my gun up again. "She can really put that bullet in your head, you know." I gave a slight chuckle at that. "And there's nothing between the two of us." He added. For some reason, I had a hard time swallowing after that, and once more my stomach clenched. But this time, it wasn't out of hunger. "Ouch. That must have hurt." She said sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Leon said angrily. "What's your business here, anyway?"

"I'm looking for this guy named Ben. He's the reporter type—always trying to get a scoop. Now, there's this truck that's blocking my path. If you'd help me move it, we could go through the door behind it."

"Alright, let's move it." Leon replied. He looked back at me, silently asking me to help, too. I rolled my eyes and hesitantly walked with him towards the said truck. The three of us pushed it and the door she was talking about was really there. Without warning, she sped ahead of us and was gone. _Oh, thank God!_

"Ada, wait!" Leon called out, but it was too late. _Hah! That bitch doesn't even deserve our attention._ I knew exactly what she was going to do later on and I decided to tell Leon right away, but we were already starting on the path where Leon was guessing she had gone through.

"Leon, it's not worth it. She's a spy working for this secret organization. She'll betray us later just to get the G-virus I was telling you about." I told him, but he didn't seem to be listening, "Leon, did you hear what I just said?"

"Yes, and that's not possible. She's too helpless to be like that."

"What? What do you mean 'helpless'? She's a bitch!" I can't believe he isn't listening to me.

"I'm telling you she's a spy and she's going to betray us!" We were practically running aimlessly, trying to find her.

"Secret spy or what, she's still a civilian and we can't let her run around alone." Leon said firmly. I was irritated like hell.

"Have you always been this stubborn?!"

"When are you going to stop looking down at me?" he replied, stopping in his tracks to look at me with fierce eyes. "I'm a cop, Celina. It's my job to protect people."

"It's also your job to punish, and she's an evil woman!"

"Don't judge her like that just because she called you a hooker!"

That cut me. That cut me really deep. We were actually shouting at each other. We just stared into each other's eyes, both seething with anger. I swallowed, and he moved away. I didn't follow. I looked up to stop the tears that welled up in my eyes, but a couple fell anyway. I decided to just shut up and let him do whatever he wanted. _He'll be sorry. _

**NINE: **

I leaned against the wall, and that was the only time I noticed that we were in a row of prison cells. "Hey!" Leon called out. For a moment there, I thought he was calling me, so I turned my head, only to find him calling someone else that's inside the last cell. I went back to just staring straight ahead and didn't listen to their worthless conversation. The guy was Ben Bertolucci, the reporter that Ada was talking about earlier. He locked himself up for fear of the creatures outside. Their conversation was just a buzzing in my ears. I entered the empty cell in front of me and sat down on the wooden board that would serve as a bed to the prisoner.

A few seconds later, Ada came in and went straight to Ben's cell. I could hear Leon jealously asking her if he was the one she was looking for. I just scoffed silently in my seat. Not long after, I saw Ada speeding off again, and Leon calling out for her. _How many times is this going to happen?_ I got-up from my seat and grabbed the manhole crank before following Leon. Maybe I should just run off like Ada. I wonder what'll happen, then. If I get too tired with this drama, maybe I really would.

Not a word was exchanged as we continued, and because of this, I pretty much had to do almost everything. _Sucks for me. _It was a really long walk back and forth the station and the basement, and finally into the sewers. Leon helped only in the shooting. If this was the movie, I'd be the spectator—who knew exactly what was going to happen.

The sewers area was a little vague, though, and I could only remember a few parts. So, when we dropped down an elevator and found Annette Birkin, William's wife, that was a surprise. Ada ran ahead as usual, and got shot at. Without warning, Leon jumped at Ada. "Heads up!" He shouted, taking a bullet from Annette as he jumped at Ada to push her out of range. _Damn it. _

"That woman—I have to talk to her," was the only thing that came out of the bitch's mouth before leaving us behind, Leon unconscious on the floor after saving her. I rolled my eyes and knew that I had the responsibility now of taking care of that wound. "So, I guess, I'm the maid now, too, huh?" I asked him even if I knew he wouldn't reply. I lifted him to a sitting position, his back leaning against the wall. I checked my pockets for a roll of bandage and realized that I had already used my last one on his leg. "You are such a burden, too, you know that?" I told him. I sighed and stood up. I need to look for an aid spray or a green herb, and something to patch up the bullet wound. _And no, there is no way in the world I'd sacrifice my jacket to cover a wound he wanted to get._ I took-off my jacket, anyway, but rolled it again into the pillow-like form I did awhile ago, then went back up. There was another elevator and I knew that the level below was a storage room. I went down and used the lighter to light it up. I rammed through all the cases, but only found bullets. _I don't even know why I should care._ I grabbed what I could and went back to where I left Leon.

"What the--?" He wasn't there anymore. Only the bloodstains on the wall and the jacket were left. _That bastard didn't even wait for me._ I put my jacket around my waist since it was too dirty to put back on and stormed off. I was so furious that not even the gigantic spiders spraying its poison around hardly caught the attention they deserved. I was concentrating on what I would do to the two if I ever find them, or if I should just do my best to keep my temper at bay because I would need their help, or rather, their guns, to get me to the underground lab of Umbrella that would get me out of here. _That reminds me, I haven't thought of what would happen if I finish this and I still haven't woken up yet. _

I reached a dry hallway with low headroom. _This looks awfully familiar._ I moved on to the end of it and found Ada shooting the water below. _What the hell is she doing?_ "What are you--" SPLASH. I was thrown into the air as an enormous alligator rose from the water and tried to eat me. "Oh, Christ!" I screamed as I landed on my ass and got-up as soon as I could. The creature got into the hallway that all of a sudden seemed as if it was made just for it. I ran to the end of the hallway, not knowing what to do next. The entire hallway shook as the creature moved. My only advantage was that it was slow.

"Leon!" he was at the end of the hallway, gun at the ready.

"Get behind me!" he shouted back. There was an oxygen tank in the middle of the hallway that wasn't there before. I reached him and tried to catch my breath. The creature came, jaws wide open. As soon as the oxygen tank entered its mouth, I closed my ears and ducked. Leon shot the tank and it exploded. It was like everything was in slow motion. The head of the alligator shattered into a million pieces, its blood gushing out of it like a fountain, while Leon just stood there holding his bullet wound as he watched the spectacle before him.

When it was all over, he suddenly fell to his knees. I tried to see if he was conscious, but before I knew it, Ada was already there, standing over us. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked. I wondered if she was just feigning it or if she was really concerned; probably the former.

"I hope so."

"Ada?" Leon uttered.

"I'm here." She replied. I felt like I was invisible.

"This bullet wound…it keeps hurting,"

"Let me fix it for you, then." She said, and started wrapping it already with a roll of bandage. I had to interfere. "Wait. I think you should try and see if the bullet's still inside." I told her.

"Right."

"Celina?" Leon said. Wow. Did he only notice me now?

"Yeah?"

"Where were you?"

"I was out of bandages so I tried looking for one. When I came back, you were gone." He didn't say anything anymore.

"There, all done." Ada said, finished with the bandaging.

"Thank you." He gave Ada that same look that he gave me awhile ago. I felt disgusted. I just looked away and stood up. She helped him up and we were on the go again. _This is really sickening me. _

**TEN:**

Leon took the lead, while the two of us followed. He was constantly checking Ada, probably to make sure that she wouldn't try to run-off again. I really don't understand how he could still be that attracted to her after she ran off—after he saved her life. _Seriously, I don't know how much more of this I can take. After all, my stomach can only endure so much. Throughout the way, they kept exchanging looks. For crying out loud!_ I had to look away most of the time just to endure those moments. We got to the factory. It won't be long till we finally reach the underground lab.

To this day, I still don't know what to call it, but we reached this small one-compartment "train" that would take us to the underground lab. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of what was going to happen next.

I told Leon how to operate it and he cooperated. We successfully started its engine and got it going. _They_ were surprised that we didn't move forward, instead we were moving downward. Then, all of a sudden, something crashed on the roof, and without warning, a huge claw burst into the compartment, practically taking three large swipes at Ada's torso as it did so.

"Ada!" Leon shouted, catching her before she fell completely to the ground. "Snap out of it! Come on!" he was practically shaking her while I just watched them again.

"I'll go take care of it now." I told Leon as I unlocked the door.

"No, Celina, wait!" he said. He laid Ada slowly on the seats against the wall. "Please, just stay here with Ada and take care of her."

"Why?"

"Can't you see she needs attention? You can do wonders with my wounds, why can't you do the same to her?" he asked inquisitively. My patience was almost out.

"But you don't even know what's out there."

"I think you already told me about him. He's William Birkin, right? Anyway, we can't waste any more time. I'll go take care of what's outside, so please, take care of what's in here, ok?" I didn't argue anymore. It wasn't worth it. If that monster got the best of him, then that's not my problem anymore. He glanced at Ada, then looked back at me, and without a word, left. I closed my eyes and clenched my fist tightly. _Does he honestly think I am now incapable of fighting huge monsters? One enormous creature and that's it; his ego is already this big? One woman—one prettier, sexier, and more feminine woman, and I'm invisible._ Thoughts flew across my head, giving me one huge headache. The gun shots and the roars outside were nothing compared to the deafening silence inside this compartment. I looked at Ada and watched her. _I was well aware that this was going to happen. I had it coming. So why do I feel so terrible?_

I did what I was told to do. Having no bandages around, I checked her for any. She was empty except for one aid spray and several bullets. I used the aid spray on her, then used my own jacket to cover the wound. _I can't believe I'm doing this. I guess they should consider this as a farewell gift, whether they like it or not_. I finished patching her up just in time. The compartment came to a stop with a jolt. That was the only time I noticed that the shooting and roaring did, too. Leon came in and thanked me. Surprisingly, he wasn't injured at all. _It must have been a piece of cake._ He carried Ada out of the compartment and into the first office he found by the entrance. I just stood by the compartment's doorway, watching. _That's it. I cannot take this anymore. I'm leaving._

As soon as Leon disappeared into the room, I started on my own. I found the laboratory map and knew that this was more than enough to let me go on. I reloaded my shotgun and combined it with the shotgun parts I found in the factory. I was all set. I headed for the east area. I tried to get into the first door I saw, but it was locked. There weren't any creatures here yet, but it was extremely cold. The lab that I went into next was practically covered in snow. How that's possible, I wouldn't know. I grabbed the main fuse which I needed to restore the power in the lab. After doing so, I went back and inserted the fuse into the power generator. _Piece of cake. _

I then headed for the west area and knew that things wouldn't be so pretty anymore. I checked the hallway. There were two ways to go to, just like in the east area. There was a shutter to open a drop-down metal door to my left, and to my right, there was a door at the end of the hallway. I decided to go for the shutter. I clicked it open. _Oh, crap!_ Two plant-like creatures rose before me. _This was not good._ I shot each of them once and recoiled hard. The new shotgun was more powerful, but at the same time, it threw me back. The "plants" started to move towards me and I ran just in time to dodge the spray of poison it threw at me. I wasn't fast enough. One of their tentacles grabbed my foot and dragged me towards them, thorns digging at my ankle. _Shit!_ Moving against the floor, I shot each of them point-blank before I reached them. The recoil from the gun pained my entire right arm and I couldn't hold on to it anymore. The tentacle let go and I was able to get up. I got my knife out and started to slice them into pieces as fast as I could. I grunted as the pain on my right shoulder slowed me down. The creatures fell to the ground in pieces and I dropped to my knees. _How am I going to shoot now?_ I started to worry since I've never been good with my left hand. I massaged my shoulder, putting the hardest pressure on it as I could. After a while, I started to worry about my bleeding ankle. I didn't have anything to make it stop bleeding. I rotated the joint for a while to see if it would be okay to keep on walking. Thankfully, it wasn't that bad. I reached for my shotgun and stood up. I considered just using my hand gun for the meantime, but I knew that was never a good idea, especially now that I wouldn't just be dealing with zombies. I'd have a hard time aiming with my shotgun, but I had no choice if I wanted to live. _If Leon was here, you wouldn't have to worry about these things._ I shook my head. _I don't need that bastard to look out for me. I can do this._ I moved on.

I walked past the chopped vegetables and entered the door at the end. It was one huge space, but for humans, there was only one way to go—and that's down a ladder. There was a plant taking up most of that huge space, but in front of me was another that was about to come to life. I decided to just let it be and go down the ladder as soon as possible.

The landing was the same as the one above, and the only other way to go was through the door next to me. I inhaled before going inside. If there were more of those plants, I wasn't sure if I'd even bother, but when I got in, there weren't any. I exhaled. I walked slowly through the narrow corridor, shotgun ready. The silence was too intense. I walked on, but still, there was nothing. CRASH. "Hello," I greeted the green licker in front of me and shot it twice. The licker was thrown back by the impact and lay dead on the floor. I snorted at it as I put my gun down.

Just then, another licker came, practically flying at me. I tried to shoot it but it was faster. It swiped the side of my neck with its large claws as it pounced right on top of me, making me fall backwards to the ground. I got out my handgun and started shooting it while I was still on the ground. It screeched as it took on my bullets, and tried to swipe me again while I rolled to dodge its claw. It finally dropped dead as I shot my last bullet on it. I tried to catch my breath as I sat up and reloaded my gun. Then, I heard something that I was certain was the sound of my doom. I slowly looked up and another licker was crawling slowly up ahead at the turn of the corridor. "God, no." I pleaded. It bared its teeth at me and I grabbed my shotgun and aimed. I pulled the trigger but it clicked empty. The licker leaped and I knew that was the end of me. I closed my eyes slowly, and felt two drops of tears slide against my cheek as I listened to the licker's screech of thirst. _This was it. _

**ELEVEN:**

A loud gun shot resonated against the walls of the corridor and into my ears. It came again. My eyes flew open and were astonished to see the third licker squirming on the floor.

"Celina!" a familiar voice shouted my name. Leon appeared before me out of nowhere and was gripping my shoulders tightly. I cringed at the pressure he put on my right shoulder, but I guess he was my 'savior'. The pains all over my body prevented me from reacting properly. "Oh my God!" Leon exclaimed. I watched him as he stared at my wounds. I just smiled at him mockingly. My vision was getting badly hazy and I could only make out his figure. "Leon…" I trailed off, unable to finish what I wanted to say.

"Just hold on, Celina! Hold on!" he said, and that was the last thing I heard.

A sudden stinging pain in my neck woke me up. "Oow!" I exclaimed, squirming.

"Hold still!" Leon ordered, one hand holding up my head, and the other spraying an aid spray on my neck. I shut my eyes as the seething pain crawled around my neck.

"That hurts, you know." "I know, I know, but we have to do this if we want to clean this wound." He said, wiping the wound gently. I almost forgot that I despised him. I held my neck as I stretched it outward so he'd have an easier time putting on the gauze pad.

"Where'd you get that?"

"There's this trunk over there that has almost everything." He said. It was only then that I realized I was in a completely different place. There were monitor screens over monitor screens that filled up almost the entire wall of one side of the room. It was an octagonal room, made completely out of metal with a lot of control panels against the walls. He finished with the gauze pad and continued on with the smaller cuts on my arm.

Any minute now, the awkward silence that filled the room would shatter, and an argument would begin, but I wouldn't start it. I watched him as he carefully cleaned the cuts and put band-aids on them. I exhaled as I tried to release another huge rock that has managed to form inside my chest again, but it stayed.

"I believe you've got some explaining to do," Leon said, without looking up at me or anything. It has begun.

"What explaining?" I asked as innocently as I could. I did not want to have this conversation. In fact, I'd do anything, and I mean anything at all, to not have this.

"I think you know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't." I told him firmly. I should win best actress for this. He sighed as he finished patching my arms up. He got up and sat down on the chair next to me. He slouched a bit so that our eyes would be on the same level, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. I had the biggest urge to look away but I didn't, making me notice that he had a painful look in his eyes. I couldn't stand it. "Please say something," I said casually, and he spoke,

"Please don't do that again."

"Do what?"

"Run off like that on your own."

"Why not?"

"You don't know how worried I was when I didn't find you after I left Ada in the room."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Like you did, just now?"

"I just wasn't prepared, that's all." I told him, keeping the casual tone intact and hiding everything else that I was feeling inside. He shifted in his seat.

"It's not that, Celina. Can't you see? You almost died awhile ago."

"Well, you live, you die; fact of life, right?" He shifted again and sighed heavily.

"If that was the case, then what's the purpose of what we've been doing for the past hours? Are you telling me that we've been trying to survive for nothing? You've been telling me that this is just a dream, but have you ever considered the fact that the body cannot live without the mind? If you die here, Celina, you could really die! Don't you see that?! Don't you see that's why we have been working together to get through this alive?" The conversation was getting heated up, and I could no longer suppress my feelings. The rock had to go.

"You know what? I'd rather die right now than have this conversation with you. This is all completely pointless. You're a cop, you want to protect everybody, but that's just not possible, okay? Now, clearly, someone needs more attention than I do and she's right there waiting for you, so you might as well just leave me right now because I don't need people who'll only notice me when I'm needed or when I am on the verge of dying already."

"What are you talking about? Since when did I treat you that way, huh?"

"Ever since Ada came along, Leon, I have been treated like shit, and--"

"What is it with Ada, anyway?" He asked, cutting me off completely. We were both standing up now and I didn't even notice it.

"Yes, Leon, what is it with Ada?" I asked in reply, taking a step forward.

"Wait, are you trying to tell me—that you're jealous?" My entire chest clenched and I didn't know what to say. _Was I? _

"Why are you asking me this question?"

"Because you are, aren't you?!"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You didn't answer the question." We were both breathing hard, looking fiercely into each other's eyes. I could feel hot tears welling up in my eyes again. _Damn these tear glands!_ I clenched my teeth and my fists, completely unable to say something. My heart was beating rapidly against my chest.

"Because if you are, you have no reason to be," Leon said softly as if in an instant, all his anguish fled from him.

I wanted to ask why, but I figured it would reveal everything. "I know I don't." I whispered angrily at him, realizing that he meant that I had no right whatsoever to be jealous because as he said it himself, there was nothing between us. Tears now flowed from my eyes and I didn't do anything to stop them. I looked away, knowing that there was nothing I could do now to redeem myself. What I was feeling right now was much worse than what I felt awhile ago when I was about to die, and what happened next was more heart-wrenching than seeing the third licker coming for me. Leon embraced me. He carefully placed my head on his shoulder and just held it there, his other arm around my waist.

"Celina," he whispered softly into my ear, making me cry more. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him. It was really pathetic. I knew that everything right now was just a show, and that he was only doing this out of obligation. No. I'm pathetic. I had deeply fallen for this guy without even knowing it. I had pushed him away, when what I really wanted was to draw him nearer. I told him I could do everything on my own, when I really wanted someone to be with me. And now, I'm telling him to leave, even when I really want him to stay.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered back. He just let me cry on his shoulder that was now soaked in my tears.

"It's okay." He said. But I knew it wasn't. I let go of him and he let me free slowly. He wiped my tears gently.

"This is really pathetic. You know that, right?" I told him, laughing sarcastically, but he remained serious.

"No, it's not." I chuckled softly at that, knowing that he just said that to respect me.

"I don't want to argue anymore." I told him.

"Okay, we won't argue." He said obediently, "But may I ask one favor from you?" I think I know what he's about to say.

"What?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Please don't be jealous of Ada."

I scoffed, "Well, that's not going to be easy."

"You really don't have to be."

"And why is that?" I looked straight at him again and he did the same. Once more, we were just staring at each other. He smiled that smile that always made my heart skip a beat. I returned an uneasy smile as anxiety got the best of me. We just stayed like that for almost a minute now. It was the longest minute of my life.

"Believe me, you just don't have to be." He said softly. I opened my mouth but nothing came out but the air that I exhaled quickly. I broke the eye contact and laughed. I didn't know what to say. I looked back at him to check if he was serious. The expression on is face hasn't changed as he watched me chuckle.

"You serious?" "How serious should I be?" he asked, his smile growing wider. It was the same question he imposed on me when he gave me the lighter. I nodded my head repeatedly, trying as hard as I could to keep my emotions at bay again. _What could he possible mean by that?_ I let it go and just smiled at the mystery of his stare.

**TWELVE:**

"Anyway, we better get going." I told him, breaking the awkward ambience that seemed to be awfully around us lately.

"Right." He said, no longer doubting if I could handle my wounds or not. We both stood up and prepared ourselves. "Where to?"

"This way." I took the lead this time, and I knew exactly what to do. We went into the next lab where we would find the lab keycard that would let us in the locked office in the east area. It was filled with butt-naked, g-virus infected zombies. Along the way, though, it was pretty much like back in the station. We were talking about random stuff casually while blowing zombies' brains out.

"So, you'd prefer being in a roomful of zombies than be 3 feet away from a frog?" he asked,

"Yes, believe it or not," I replied, and at that, he laughed out loud.

"Hey, I am not kidding. That is how much I'm scared of frogs." I told him sternly as I shot a gigantic moth continuously. He was still chuckling.

"Okay, okay, how about this: kiss a frog, or eat only vegetables for a week?" He knifed a critter on the computer keyboard and slapped it out.

"I'd rather die." He laughed again. That was pretty much what we did for the next few minutes.

We got to the locked office, killed some zombies, and grabbed the M.O. disk. It was only a matter of minutes before we got to the end of the game. _What would happen then? _

Upon exiting the office, Annette Birkin greeted us with her gun in one hand, and the g-virus sample on the other. Leon moved in front of me as if to protect me if she shoots.

"You! You murdered my husband!" She exclaimed angrily at us.

"Listen," I whispered to Leon, completely ignoring what Annette was saying, "the self-destruct system will be activated in a few seconds. After this, go get Ada and head for the corridor where you found me and the lickers. I'll get the emergency train started." I whispered to Leon from behind him.

"Are you sure of this?"

"Yes. Trust me."

"Alright," he said, and at that, he gave way for me and I left. Annette didn't even bother to follow me with her gun. She was much too concentrated with the man who "killed" her husband.

The truth is, it wasn't really necessary for me to leave the scene. In fact, all that's going to happen is that Annette would tell Leon about Ada's true personality which of course, I've already told Leon about, but he still wouldn't listen, and that dramatic scene where Ada falls into the pit and Leon cries out her name and all. _Some sick shit, I tell you._ However, the part about the self-destruct system being activated was true, and there's this annoying voice over the P.A. that says "All employees must proceed to the bottom platform," over and over again. But seriously, I just left because I knew I wouldn't be able to stand the drama.

So, there I was on my own again. I opened up the cargo bay with the M.O. disk we found and decided to check and clear the area. I found the emergency elevator. It usually takes like 5 minutes just to get up here, so I figured that I might as well push the button already and call it so that by the time that Leon gets here, it'd be ready. A few steps into the cargo bay and all of a sudden, the voice on the P.A. changed its message. "Five minutes to detonation time." It said. Damn. I pushed the button—a very simple move that proved to be the worst I ever did as soon as the ceiling above me started to move. Something huge was pushing it down, spraying me with plaster all over. "Oh, fuck!" I said out loud as I remembered that this would be another encounter with William Birkin.

I loaded all my guns as fast as I could and before I knew it, a freshly-mutated monster dropped from the ceiling before me. I ran to the back of the room but I wasn't fast enough. He had already jumped up on one of the large, cylindrical liquid containers that were all over the place. I ran again and stopped to shoot at him, starting with my handgun. I emptied my clip as fast as I could. He was airborne again and I had to run as far as I could from him. I equipped my shotgun and prepared myself for the pain in my shoulder. I stopped in my tracks and turned to shoot. He was gone. _Where the hell is he?_ Bad question. He roared behind me and I only had a split-second to glance at him before he threw me into the air. I crashed onto the far corner of the room. I got up and shot him as much as my damned shoulder would allow me while he stalked towards me, staggering at every shot he took, but never falling to the ground. _God, help me. _He was only a few feet away from me when my gun clicked empty again. I tried to run, but his huge claw took three clean slices at my back. _Here we go again._ I screamed as pain throttled through my body, but my determination to see the end of this prevailed. Staggering, I moved as fast as I could to the other side of the room and away from him. I shot him a few times with my reloaded shotgun, but it wasn't enough. _It was never enough._ He jumped up the cylinders to get to me and I took the advantage of shooting him while he was airborne. I emptied my last clip of shotgun shells and threw it at him. I got out my handgun and reloaded it; my last and only hope. _Just a few more shots_—He threw me across the room again and I made sure that though I was airborne, I had a good aim of him. I emptied my handgun, and it was finally enough. "Ugh!" I crashed against the wall and landed on my side. I heard the creature fall hard on the floor as well, and the feeling of satisfaction could not even compare to the throbbing pain all over my body.

I just lay there on the floor, getting as much oxygen as I could as I felt warm blood running out of the wounds on my back, and I smiled. I smiled real wide. I finished him—with a handgun. I began to laugh at the idea that it was actually possible.

My vision was darkening again, so I just closed my eyes and hoped not to pass out for the nth time. I swallowed my blood-flavored saliva.

"Celina!" I heard Leon's familiar voice echo inside the room. He has seen the worst of me, alright. It won't be any trouble trying to maintain a clean impression. "Oh, no! What happened to you?" he asked, worriedly. He wasn't with Ada, which means that she's probably dead by now. Oh, glorious night.

"Hey, Leon. 'Sup?" I asked him, laughing a little. I guess you could say I'm hysterical, but I've probably just taken too many green herbs.

"What's so funny?" he asked curiously. I didn't know either. I'm high, alright. "C'mon, let's get you out of here." He said. He started carrying me to the elevator that was finally there. It's always like that, isn't it? These things only open up after you've gotten yourself all bloodied-up to defeat the big boss.

I closed my eyes and just let him carry me around as I barely had enough strength to do anything. We went down the elevator and I could hear the train's engine already. Shit. It's already moving. It's surprising, though, that I really haven't passed out yet.

"Leon!" I heard Claire's voice call Leon out.

"Claire!"

"Hurry up!" How we're going to get on the train, I wouldn't know.

"We're going to have to jump, Celina." Leon told me as he set me down on the floor, putting my left arm around him to support me as we moved to the train. "Come on, we can do this!" I wasn't really so sure myself. "One, two--" he said and I braced myself for the pain that was to follow the fall. "Three!" we leapt up onto the train, almost missing the last opening to it, and fell on the cold, metal floor. _That's it. I can't move anymore. _My eyelids were heavy like hell, so I gave in and just shut them tight. Without a word, he lifted me up and carried me again. I don't know where we were going. I couldn't really care. I'm actually dying.

I inhaled and felt the cold metal floor against my heavily wounded back. I could barely open my eyes. I made out Leon's figure in the hollow light of the train compartment and tried to smile. _This is it. This is really it. This was the end of everything. _

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi," I replied, then swallowed. My entire mouth tasted like blood.

"You look great." He said, not a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. I chuckled a little at that,

"Thanks." I did my best to try and open my eyes to at least half the way and succeeded. I could see him clearly now.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked in a whisper. He held my hand tight and brushed his thumb against the back of my hand gently.

"I don't know." I closed my eyes and swallowed again. When I opened them, the look on his face has changed. "Do you think—that you're going to wake up now?"

"I'm not so sure I want to find out anymore." he laughed and knew what I meant. The wounds and bruises all over my body were giving me so much pain that it just didn't matter anymore. "I love you," I wanted to tell him, but didn't. It wouldn't change anything.

At this point, anyone in the right mind would cry and say that the pain in my heart cannot compare to all the wounds that I have. _But, no, I was never in the right mind. I was crying because I was truly happy. Happy, because I was able to finish this game for real; happy because I was able to get to the end of this alive; and happy, because I was able to find something that no one else would have been able to find in the midst of all bedlam—love. Damn. That must be the cheesiest thing I ever thought of. _"We'll find each other." He said and kissed my hand. My body went numb, and in an instant, all the lights went off for me.

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN:**

Suddenly, a bright, white light was blinding my eyes though they were shut tight. I inhaled again and breathed to life. I opened my eyes slowly and found myself in a really bright place. _Is this heaven?_ I looked at the gleaming white that was all around me and was happy to be in a very familiar place.

Two children, a girl and a boy, suddenly came running into the room, giggling and laughing. They were about six years old. The girl climbed up my bed while the boy stayed at my side. They were twins. The girl leaned against me while the little boy leaned on my legs.

"Good morning, mommy!" The little girl greeted. Warmth that only a mother could feel suddenly swept over me and it was the loveliest feeling in the whole world.

"Good morning, Lily!" I greeted—_my little angels. _The boy started to poke me, asking for attention, "Hello, Dylan!" Dylan giggled as I poked him back. Lily joined in, and the poke wars began. We were laughing and giggling all over my bed when I heard a familiar chuckle coming from the doorway.

I looked up and found my husband leaning against the open doorway with a cup of coffee in one hand. "Daddy!" The twins squealed and Dylan ran to him. My husband bent down so that Dylan could kiss him on the cheek. He also whispered something into his father's ears and it was the cutest sight. My husband laughed at whatever our son told him; a secret that I would probably never find out.

"Breakfast is ready now, kids. Go get 'em ham and eggs!" He told them.

"I do not like green eggs and ham," Lily said out loud,

"I do not like them, Sam-I-am," Dylan added. We all laughed at the famous lines from Dr. Seuss, then they raced to the kitchen. It was just me and my husband now. He closed the door and walked towards me, our eyes locked on each other, and our smiles matching the other. He set his coffee on the side-table and sat down next to me. "Good morning, Celina," He greeted,

"Good morning, Leon,"

"Happy Anniversary," He leaned forward and we kissed. _I guess I really am in heaven._

**FIN**


End file.
